ROME, April 2 (Reuters) - Italian state-backed lender CassaDepositi e Prestiti (CDP) is ready to buy out Metroweb if talksto sell a stake in the fibre optic network provider end upwithout success, CDP Chairman Franco Bassanini said on Thursday.
Italian phone monopoly Telecom Italia and rivalVodafone have been in talks to buy a stake in Metrowebthat F2i is selling for several months but discussions have hitproblems over the ownership structure of the deal.
"If there are no investors willing to buy F2i's stake inMetroweb, it's not a mystery for anyone that CDP will step in tobuy it," Bassanini told reporters on the sidelines of an eventin Rome.
Metroweb is seen as a building block for a 12 billion euros ($13 billion) broadband plan the government is pushing for. Thecompany is 87.7 percent controlled by Metroweb Italia, which inturn is 53.8 percent owned by F2i and 46.2 percent by CDP unitFSI. ($1 = 0.9234 euros) (Reporting by Alberto Sisto; Writing by Danilo Masoni; editingby Agnieszka Flak)
Vodafone (VOD)